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Unlocked vs. Locked Magic
The process of unleashing one's potential to use the magic within their soul is called "Unlocking" one's magic. Souls that have not undergone this process are said to have "locked" magic. However, it should be noted that unlocking ones' magic is only the first step towards successfully becoming a mage. Once unlocked, a mage has to develop a magical focus. Potential for Magic All beings with souls have the ability to unlock and use magic, at least to a certain extent. Magic is like any other skill that can be unlocked with practice. To explain, I’m going to compare it to riding a bike. Almost every person in this world is capable of doing magic, in the same way that almost every person in the world is capable of riding a bike. It takes practice to unlock the ability, but once you do so, it’s all a sort of mental muscle memory. Some people pick it up quicker than others, some learn almost by accident, and some struggle their entire lives to really get the hang of it. Just like having coordination issues would make learning to ride a bike difficult, having trouble focusing would likely limit your magical capabilities. For example, a mage with ADHD would likely either struggle with magic for their entire life OR be insanely good at it due to their ability to hyperfocus. In addition, just because you can ride a bike doesn’t mean you’re skilled enough to go mountain biking, ride the bike along the roads to work, or race in the Tour de France. Similarly, just because you can access your magical abilities doesn’t mean you will be good at it right away, or ever. It’s a skill that some people are better at than others, just like anything else. Unlocking Process Before one can begin to use magic, they must first unlock their magical abilities. This is what the bike analogy refers to. A novice mage has no idea what they’re doing, just like a novice biker. Usually, a journeyman mage will use their own powers next to the novice at first, allowing the novice mage to get a feel for how magic looks and feels close up. This close proximity to magic will often tickle at the magic within their soul, and young mages are encouraged to start by simply grabbing onto that feeling and practicing that over and over. After they master that, it’s simply a matter of pulling out what they just grabbed. Figuring out how to use these powers will come in time, but you can’t do that until the powers themselves are unlocked. It’s a difficult concept to explain to those who have never experienced it, but according to a friend, the best analogy he ever heard compared it to dumping ketchup out of a bottle. First, it’s all stuck in the bottom of the bottle, and then you sorta feel sense it moving towards your plate, and then suddenly there’s ketchup EVERYWHERE and you can’t control it because it’s coming out of the bottle so fast. Apparently, this analogy can’t really be extended to the process of controlling this power, but it’s good for describing how it feels to unlock it. Responsibility Magical abilities are a huge responsibility. Once unlocked, magic needs to be honed into a focus; otherwise, the user has no control over their powers, and, inevitably, someone is going to get hurt. The mage then has to spend the rest of their life managing and being aware of this focus, reevaluating and changing it when they change and grow as a person. This is why this world, where everyone has the potential to be a mage, is not entirely made up of said mages. Compare it to getting a pet. Almost everyone has wanted a pet at some point in their life, but not everyone actually goes out and gets a pet. Why? Because you can’t just bring a pet home and never think about it again except to have fun with your new companion. You have to feed it, wash it, take it to the vet, etc. This is a big responsibility, and not everyone has the time, money, or mental/emotional/physical ability to take that responsibility on. Same goes for magic. Once you’ve unlocked it, you have to take care of it. Most mages don’t unlock their magic until they’re at least in their early teens, for the same reason most children who want a pet don’t get one until they’ve proven themselves responsible enough to care for it. Plus, unlike a pet, which can be given to a loving home if something happens that prevents you from caring for it anymore, unlocked magic is a lifetime responsibility that is yours ALONE. You can’t share the work of maintaining it, nor can anyone take it on in your stead. Re-Locking Magic You can’t lock your magic back up, except under extreme circumstances. Just like how people who’ve had strokes or experienced severe trauma sometimes have to relearn how to talk, walk, or read, the brain will sometimes lock your magic back up under extreme trauma. It’s very, very rare, and only occurs as a side effect of something else. In other words, you can’t attempt to lock it up just because you don’t want magic anymore. Accidental Unlocks Of course, some people end up unlocking their magic on accident. This is usually due to a concentrated magical exposure during a period of stress. See, when someone wants to unlock their magic intentionally, the easiest method is to have an experienced mage cast a spell nearby, which tugs on the bit of the brain that goes “wait I think I have something like that I can do too.” It takes a lot of repeat attempts, but eventually, the brain will start being able to replicate that sensation and boom, you’ve got magic. Kinda like babies learning to talk. This only works with spells being actively cast nearby; echoes of the magical signature, enchantments, and/or random ambient bouncy magic aren’t distinct enough for the brain to notice. Therefore, when someone is under extreme stress and their brain is in full fight-or-flight mode, the brain will notice the little wiggle of “wait I might be able to do that” when a lot of magic is being cast nearby and immediately tug on that string in a desperate bid for survival. Kinda like how humans will suddenly get super strength and use a LOT more of their muscle power when in danger. For whatever reason, this phenomenon of accidentally unlocking your magic happens far more often in children and adolescents than adults. In a way, I guess you could also compare it to throwing children into the deep end of the pool to teach them to swim. It usually works a LOT faster than traditional teaching methods… you just have to be okay with traumatizing them. Since children aren’t encouraged to unlock their magic until they’re mature enough anyway, no one in Duilintinn with any sort of sanity would actually use this method to intentionally unlock someone’s magic. In fact, while it was a common practice during the Feadhainn Era, the laws of Duilintinn deem intentionally forcing someone to unlock their magic to be a huge crime. It’s even worse if the victim is a child. Unfortunately, it still happens on accident fairly often, especially with The Enemy still threatening the kingdom. At least one case of accidental magic unlocking occurs after major enemy raids on population centers or settlements, usually in local children. Younger, non-mage Watchers below the age of 25 are required to sign a waiver saying that they understand the risk of accidental magic unlocking, though it very rarely occurs above the age of 15 (which is another reason why The Watch doesn’t send Watchers below that age on missions) and those who do unlock their magic on accident at an older age usually experienced a similar incident that could have already unlocked it (but instead only got the brain’s attention) at some point in the past. Subconscious Magic Some people who undergo this process of accidentally unlocking their magic will find themselves in an in-between stage, where their magic is not fully unlocked, yet sometimes imbues itself into their actions without their notice. This small bit of magic would normally act alongside the user's non-magical intentions, not enough to result in uncontrollable consequences, but enough to treat their personal goals and intentions as a sort of tiny magical focus. This most often happens to young people who are susceptible to accidentally unlocking their magic, but suffer an extended period of long-term stress in close proximity to magic, rather than an intense fight-or-flight instinct in a single moment. This also leaves them more susceptible to accidentally unlocking their magic at a later date, even well into adulthood.